Prefect (Romania)
A prefect (Romanian: prefect) in Romania represents the Government in each of the country's 41 counties, as well as the Municipality of Bucharest.
History
The office traces its origin to the ispravnici who held office in the Danubian Principalities before these united in 1859. Two laws of 1864 introduced the office of prefect into the new Romanian state, modelled on the French equivalent. Another law was enacted in 1872, while an 1883 law reduced the prefect's role to executing Government decisions. The office was strengthened by law in 1892; it was provided that "at the head of each county there is a prefect...named by royal decree, upon the recommendation of the Minister of the Interior...he represents the executive power in the entire district placed under his administration". The 1925 law for administrative unity regarded the prefect as the representative of the central authorities, with power to control local officials. Named by royal decree following a recommendation of the Interior Minister, the prefect, aside from fulfilling general conditions for civil servants, had to be at least thirty years of age and to have completed a state-recognised university. Prefects already in office for at least a year were exempt.[1]
A 1929 law was the first to distinguish between appointed and elected local authorities. The prefect was no longer the head of the county administration, but the "representative of the government", charged with exercising "control and supervision over all local authorities". The central authorities named him; he represented executive power. The law created a new institution, the county administrative commission, and the prefect was its president. In 1936, a law was adopted enhancing the prefect's powers: he was now head of the county administration, supervising all cultural institutions and public services. He was also chief of
From 1940 to 1944, during the
Following the
Attributes
The main attributes of prefects are defined at Article 123 of the Constitution of Romania:
- (1) The Government names one prefect in each county and in the Municipality of Bucharest.
- (2) The prefect is the representative of the Government at the local level and heads the devolved public services of the ministries and of the other organs of the central public administration in the administrative-territorial units.
- (3) The prefect's attributes are defined through organic law.
- (4) Between prefects, on the one hand, and local councils and town halls, as well as county councils and their presidents, on the other hand, no subordinate relations exist.
- (5) The prefect may challenge, before an administrative court, an act of the county council, or a local council or of a mayor, in the event he considers the act illegal. The act thus challenged is suspended de jure.[8]
Section 4 of this article was added in 2003; the remainder dates to 1991. The prefect's role is further defined by a 2004 law, modified by decrees in 2004 and 2005, and by a law in 2006.
Each prefect leads a prefectural college; this is a consultative body meant to assist in coordinating the activities of devolved public services. In particular, it is meant to analyse the activity of devolved services and propose measures to improve it; to identify where multiple services can cooperate; to decide on measures necessary to implement policies adopted at the national level; to organise joint activities of public services in order to deal with special situations; and to analyse what measures should be taken for there to be a unified system of managing information or material, financial or human resources.[11]
Each prefecture also has a chancellery, composed of a director, an adviser to the prefect, an adviser on
Prefects and deputy prefects (subprefecţi) hold regular public audiences.
Prefecture buildings
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c d e (in Romanian) Short History, Argeș County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Florin Grecu, "Regimul şi principiile Constituţiei de la 1938" ("The Regime and Principles of the 1938 Constitution"), Sfera politicii, nr. 172, November–December 2012; accessed August 4, 2013
- ^ (in Romanian) Final Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust in Romania, at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum site, p.119
- ^ (in Romanian) Short History Archived 2009-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, Dâmboviţa County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Short History, Bacău County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) "Secretarii de stat şi subprefecţii, reduşi la jumătate" ("State Secretaries and Deputy Prefects, Cut by Half"), Evenimentul Zilei, July 8, 2010; accessed August 7, 2012
- ^ (in Romanian) "Guvernul a aprobat ordonanța de urgență care le permite prefecților și subprefecților să fie membri de partid" ("Government Approves Emergency Order Allowing Prefects and Deputy Prefects to Be Party Members"), G4Media, January 27, 2021; accessed January 28, 2021
- ^ a b (in Romanian) Current Attributes of the Prefect, Buzău County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Role and Attributes of the Prefect Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, Bistriţa-Năsăud County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) "Prefecturile vor fi finanţate prin bugetul MAI şi coordonate de Victor Viorel Ponta" ("Prefectures to Be Funded through Interior Budget and Coordinated by Victor Viorel Ponta"), România Liberă, December 22, 2012; accessed December 27, 2012
- ^ (in Romanian) Prefectural College Archived 2009-03-09 at the Wayback Machine, Dâmboviţa County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Prefectural Chancellery, Caraș-Severin County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Audience Schedule Archived 2010-01-24 at the Wayback Machine, Argeș County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Certification Procedure Archived 2009-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, Argeș County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Drivers' Licenses Archived 2009-08-06 at the Wayback Machine, Argeș County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Vehicle Registration Archived 2010-01-24 at the Wayback Machine, Argeș County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Passport Service Archived 2009-08-12 at the Wayback Machine, Argeș County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Document Verification Archived 2009-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, Argeș County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Attribues Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, Dâmboviţa County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Committees Archived 2009-08-01 at the Wayback Machine, Argeș County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Caransebeș Prefectural Office, Caraș-Severin County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Oravița Prefectural Office, Caraș-Severin County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Roman Prefectural Office Archived 2009-08-23 at the Wayback Machine, Neamţ County Prefecture
- ^ (in Romanian) Târgu Neamţ Prefectural Office Archived 2009-05-17 at the Wayback Machine, Neamţ County Prefecture
External links
- (in Romanian) Links to prefectures' sites, at the Romanian Government site